They both walked away: that's the good news about this horrendous hit between Mississippi State safety Nickoe Whitley and Auburn wide receiver Emory Blake. The bad news is that for a sick instant both players lay on the field, and Whitley appeared to be out on his feet after a helmet-to-helmet hit on the play.
VIDEO: Nickoe Whitley And Emory Blake Both Walk Away From Scary Hit
Video is after the jump, and is not pretty.
Miss State was hit for an illegal hit on the play, and should have been. It’s helmet-to-helmet, though it seems less deliberately malicious to me than a clear case of leading with the crown on a helmet. The worst thing about helmet-to-helmet hits, though, is that intent is secondary to effect: even if a safety coming downhill towards a streaking receiver takes precautions, there is always the chance that the speed of the play will exceed the reactions of the player, and that’s when you end up with two players on the ground and the trainers looking for backboards.
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